Uncovering Burgundy’s underrated premier cru vineyards

In Burgundy, nothing is simple. According to the website of the Burgundy wine board (BIVB), there are 84 appellations in Burgundy, divided into three categories: seven regional appellations, 44 village appellations and 33 grand cru appellations.

Premiers crus are a sub-category of village appellations; at present, 666 vineyard names (called climats or crus) qualify for the addition of the honorific ‘premier cru’ to the name of a village.

All climats are different and all climats are not created equal. A savvy wine lover will learn to distinguish those offering exceptional quality, exceptional value, or both. The question of value is a relative one, of course.

Roumier’s Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses averages considerably more than £4,000 a bottle, so what constitutes ‘value’?

For this article, we look at ‘grand cru-adjacent’ climats, whose wines sell for a fraction of the price of their illustrious neighbours.

Most of the wines highlighted here can be found for less than £300 a bottle, and some significantly less.

12 wines from Burgundy’s undervalued premier cru vineyards listed below

Chablis

1er Cru Vaulorent

The premier cru system is perhaps at its most confusing in Chablis, but these wines represent such marvellous value that it’s worth taking the trouble to learn.

In Chablis, there are today 17 premiers crus that the French call porte-drapeau (generally translated as ‘flag bearer’ or ‘umbrella’), which include one or more climats. The system resulted from a reorganisation at the time of the creation of the premier cru appellation in 1967, revised in 1978.

Today, there are 89 lieux-dits classified as premiers crus; 40 can be mentioned on a label but are often grouped under one of the 17 flag-bearer appellations. Fourchaume is a perfect example.

Grapes from the Fourchaume climat itself, along with those from the Vaupulent, Côte de Fontenay, L’Homme Mort and Vaulorent climats, may be labelled simply as ‘Fourchaume’ and often are.

The total area is 130ha, making it the largest premier cru in Chablis and the largest on the right bank of the Serein, where the grand cru climats are located.

Only Vaulorent is on the same slope as the grands crus; the valley of Fontenay separates it from the other four climats that sit under the Fourchame umbrella.

Vaulorent borders grand cru Les Preuses, giving this premier cru extraordinary power, and is well worth our attention.

Fixin

1er Cru Clos de la Perrière

The northern reaches of the Côte de Nuits, below Dijon, are often neglected.

But noted 19th-century authority Dr Jules Lavalle singled out the Clos de la Perrière in Fixin for inclusion in his top quality category, which he dubbed Tête de Cuvée.

He explained: ‘…they have the virtue of keeping longer than any of the wines of the Côte-d’Or’ and, as they age, ‘…a bouquet that typifies the charm of the wines of Burgundy and places them at the head of all the world’s wines’.

Today, the clos is the monopole of the Joliet family and the current proprietor Bénigne Joliet is making every effort to re-establish the prestige of the site.

Joliet divides the clos into four parts and treats them separately. First of all there are: Quatre Peupliers (Four Poplars), which has the most limestone; and Queue d’Hareng (Herring’s Tail), lying within the commune of Brochon to the south, which gives a tannic, slightly rustic wine that he vinifies as whole clusters.

Then there are: La Parque, the northernmost parcel, next to the house; and La Vierge, which has the oldest vines (80 years).

Of the 5ha, Joliet has grafted a half-hectare with Chardonnay in the cool air of the combe – the gorge that runs down towards Fixin from the hills to the west – making this the only white premier cru in Fixin.

Gevrey-Chambertin

1er Cru Aux Combottes

Unlike Fixin, Gevrey-Chambertin is well-trodden territory for wine lovers. Even here, however, there are overlooked corners that offer great value, although in Gevrey-Chambertin, ‘great value’ is a relative term.

A casual look at the map of Gevrey-Chambertin and neighbouring Morey-St-Denis, to its south, shows a seeming anomaly. The band of grands crus is interrupted only once between Mazis-Chambertin (in the north) and Bonnes-Mares (furthest south), by the 4.6ha premier cru Aux Combottes.

Considering that it’s bordered on every side by grands crus (Latricières-Chambertin to the north, Charmes-Chambertin/Mazoyères-Chambertin to the east and Clos de la Roche to the south and west), it’s jarring that this small patch doesn’t enjoy grand cru status as well.

Several reasons for this rupture have been proposed, according to my conversations with key producers in the area.

During the judicial trial in 1930 that finalised the grand cru appellations for Gevrey-Chambertin, the Chambertin producers’ union agreed to the stipulation that the word ‘Chambertin’ could be used only for vineyards that touched Chambertin or the Clos de Bèze, which Combottes doesn’t.

The owners who belonged to this union were all residents of Gevrey-Chambertin. However, since the land in Combottes was (and still primarily is) owned by growers from Morey-St-Denis, they had no seat at the table in these negotiations.

Contrarian opinions suggest that Combottes is affected by the cool breezes from the Combe Grisard gorge, although so is Latricières to an even greater degree.

Others point out that geologist Françoise Vannier-Petit has shown that only the lower third is on the same soil as Chambertin and that the upper portion is on the soil type known as grèzes litées (limestone scree).

Since this is also found in grand cru Musigny, this would hardly seem to disqualify Combottes from exalted status. Ultimately, Combottes can make superb wine, some very well priced. Happy hunting!

Chambolle-Musigny/Vosne-Romanée

1er Cru La Combe d’Orveau/1er Cru En Orveaux

Further down the Côte, a sharp-eyed Burgundy fan might notice an even greater oddity. The Combe d’Orveau valley spills cool air from higher elevations into Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigny and the Clos de Vougeot (grand cru).

The vineyards that climb the northern side of this valley are in Chambolle-Musigny and those on the southern flank are in Vosne-Romanée. On both sides of the valley, there are vineyards classified as grand cru.

A section of Musigny (a monopole of Domaine Jacques Prieur) lies in the lieu-dit La Combe d’Orveau and a large (more than 5ha) swath of Echezeaux lies in lieu-dit En Orveaux.

There’s also Vosne-Romanée premier cru En Orveaux (produced by Mongeard-Mugneret and Sylvain Cathiard, among others) and Chambolle-Musigny premier cru La Combe d’Orveau (Perrot-Minot, Taupenot-Merme and Faiveley, among others).

Anne Gros produces a very good village-level Combe d’Orveau, and there are vines classed as regional AP Bourgogne in the lieu-dit furthest back in the combe, La Poirelotte – fine red and white Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune bottlings are also produced by Domaines Hervé and Laurent Roumier.

Vosne-Romanée

1er Cru Les Petits Monts

In Vosne-Romanée, south of Musigny, similar opportunities exist, tied here simply to elevation. If you continue to climb the slope of the Richebourg grand cru past its western border, you can get to Vosne-Romanée premier cru Les Petits Monts.

Clearly, the elevation is higher, but the soil is also thinner, and consequently the wines don’t have the depth or concentration of Richebourg, yet there is a lovely perfume and unbeatable elegance here.

Joseph Drouhin produces a well-regarded (and well-priced) version from vines belonging to Véronique Drouhin. There are several other négociant bottlings that I have enjoyed, including one from Cyprien Arlaud and one from Philippe Pacalet.

One of the wines I found most exciting is from Amélie Berthaut of Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet (pictured above). She’s one of Burgundy’s rising stars and produces a fabulous version.

The domaine is also the proprietor of a half-hectare (out of 3.67ha) in the premier cru, so there’s wine available; it’s among the best-value offerings in the appellation.

There are also some exalted names producing Petits Monts. Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair is the proprietor of 0.13ha that lie not far from his holding in Aux Reignots (0.73ha), the next climat south.

Most surprising to many is that Domaine de la Romanée-Conti also has a sizeable parcel of Petits Monts. The grapes were sometimes blended into its Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Duvault-Blochet, but more often they were sold to the négociant trade.

Since 2018, however, the esteemed domaine has begun to bottle it for sale exclusively to the restaurant trade in France. Dining last summer in an undisclosed location, I was lucky enough to enjoy an exquisite bottle – the only way to do so.

Pernand-Vergelesses

1ers Crus Sous Frétille, En Caradeux & Ile de Vergelesses

The Côte de Nuits isn’t the only place to search for excellent-value premier cru wines.

Wine lovers can also find well-priced, top-quality wines throughout the Côte de Beaune, further southwest again.

Given our ‘grand cru-adjacent’ stipulation, we should begin to look close to the hill of Corton, just north of the town of Beaune.

One of the obvious candidates for white wines is Sous Frétille, which faces southeast, looking back towards the hill of Corton.

Sous Frétille can be either red or white, although given the elevation of the vines, it seems best suited to whites and only white wines can be classified as premier cru: a status that it has enjoyed since the 2000 vintage.

Local Pernand standout Domaine Rapet produces an exemplary version.

On the other, southwest side of the village of Pernand-Vergelesses lie three more interesting climats. The northernmost of these is En Caradeux, whose vines surrounding the one-star Michelin restaurant Le Charlemagne building produce both red and white versions.

Louis Jadot makes both under the name Clos de la Croix de Pierre, rather than the vineyard name; however, since the Chardonnay stretches from the premier cru band to a portion classified as village-level, it isn’t a premier cru.

South of En Caradeux there are several ‘Vergelesses’, perhaps the finest being Ile des Vergelesses. Further down the slope, across the D18 road, the vineyard is known simply as Vergelesses.

The soils here are heavier, but can be well-suited to Pinot Noir, although Chardonnay is also permitted.

Among the finest producers is Chandon de Briailles. The border with Savigny-lès-Beaune is just south of En Caradeux, where one finds another climat called Les Vergelesses.

At Domaine Simon Bize, Chisa Bize bottles her admirable versions in red and white under the name of the lieu-dit Aux Vergelesses.

St-Aubin

1ers Crus En Remilly & Les Murgers des Dents de Chien

The legendary hillside that shelters Montrachet and four other grands crus faces east looking over PulignyMontrachet village.

Just after the border with Chassagne, the hill turns to face south as it twists into the combe that leads up to the Hautes-Côtes.

Above Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet lie the premier cru vineyards of Les Murgers des Dents de Chien (whose name means ‘vineyard walls of dog’s teeth’), which faces east and south, and En Remilly, which faces south. Both are classified as St-Aubin premier cru.

Although there are several interesting premiers crus in St-Aubin that remain relatively unknown (and undervalued), these two are in the closest proximity to the grand cru slope.

Both are classified for red and white wines, but white wine is the logical choice, given the vineyards’ elevation (up to 300m-350m).

There are outstanding versions of both by superstar winemakers at Hubert Lamy and Jean-Claude Bachelet, and there’s a very good En Remilly from the revered Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, who declares it ‘the most Chassagne style of St-Aubin’.

12 from Burgundy’s undervalued premiers crus

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